Adventure Fantasy Fiction

Is it easy to survive in the game world? You could say yes, if you didn't know what the additional conditions were. They are unusual: it's the real world in which you have lived all your life. The enemy, craving to destroy you. Your own class who couldn't care less about you. Are you still sure that survival is easy? Then welcome to The Game! It will prove you wrong.

Kandri Hinjuman was never meant to be a soldier. His brother Mektu was never meant for this world. Rivals since childhood, they are drafted into a horrific war led by a madwoman-Prophet, and survive each day only by hiding their disbelief. Kandri is good at blending in, but Mektu is hopeless: impulsive, erratic - and certain that a demon is stalking him. Is this madness or a second sense? Either way, Kandri knows that Mektu's antics will land them both in early graves. But all bets are off when the brothers' simmering feud explodes into violence, and holy blood is spilled.

The Demonic Overlord himself has just dropped the biggest bombshell on Jake, and the stakes have risen again. Now that he’s being pulled deeper into the hierarchy of the Nine Circles, Jake has to find a way to navigate this power-hungry world without the help of his biggest ally—Professor Hightower. The loss couldn’t have come at a worse time. When an ancient demonic sorcerer starts to target Jake, his carefully-constructed world begins to crumble.

Who knew that getting a second chance for life on another world - after you died - could turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you? Morgan has been living on this new world for quite some time. He has made friends, found love, been betrayed, formed a guild, fought off a goblin horde, and become an adventurer. His life is perhaps a bit strange now compared to what he had been used to on Earth, but hey, he has an energy sword now.

There are no more red or blue states; just empty states. And empty cities. But a few Americans survived, and are fighting to stay alive. Ted, the pilot, still protects Vice President Emily Williams as he retains the hope of finding his niece. His skills are tested as enemy forces zero in on their location. Tabby, the tour guide, is stuck with three young teens as she looks for her parents. Entire cities are theirs to explore. Dwight, the homeless man, is known for talking to an invisible parrot. He might also be witness to the first wave of the invasion force.

A siege is laid against the last resistance to the Senate's rule. As the battle rages, a commander, a soldier, and a rebel will decide how far they are willing to go for victory.

Dayra Gesha, a friend of Lirien’s and the smartest person she had ever met, was in danger, and we had to help. It wasn’t completely one-sided, though. Dayra just might have the knowledge to help us crack the nut that was the fortress ruins where we might find the demigod Aeyr. You know, to put an end to him. But finding a single person in the jungles of Teaphotria was not just difficult, it was dangerous. With myriads of monsters and even simple insects and plants able to kill on contact or with a single bite, we needed a guide.

In this third installment of the Minecraft Gamer's Adventure series, Steve is invited to participate in an elite building competition on Mushroom Island. His friends - Max, Lucy, and Henry - are impressed and want to join their friend on a journey to the island. Yet not everyone is happy: Steve's neighbor, Kyra, is upset because she wasn't chosen as a contestant.

High in the mountains, deep in the safety of a cave, a brood of dragons is born. The four young ones are among the last of a dying breed---the final hope for dragons' survival. But hope shatters when a murderous group of slave-trading dwarves breaks into the cave, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Only young Auron, a rare scaleless gray dragon, manages to escape.

A lone DeathEater has forsaken his clan. Leaving behind his previous life, Skharr starts building a future next to a dangerous forest in an unknown land. He tells himself it is better than taking gold for questionable reasons. A lone old man travelling with a donkey offers him a choice: Continue this farm life, or trade him Skharr's just finished home and tilled land for a map. A map that Skharr can use to live large for years...if he survives.

It's not always easy being a female warrior with a nickname like Annwyl the Bloody. Men tend to either cower in fear-a lot-or else salute. It's true that Annwyl has a knack for decapitating legions of her ruthless brother's soldiers without pausing for breath. But just once it would be nice to be able to really talk to a man - the way she can talk to Fearghus the Destroyer. Too bad that Fearghus is a dragon, of the large, scaly, and deadly type.

First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family's pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality.

A born warrior, Talyn Dynan was the finest fighter of her generation. But after a combat mission goes tragically wrong, she is left broken and wracked with guilt. Sent on a dangerous assignment to the mysterious kingdom of Mithranar, she must contend with the ruthless political games of the royal court while secretly hunting a criminal who is key to a much greater mystery. A single mistake could mean her death.

Axel Nal is out of luck and out of time. He has failed every single induction ceremony and it is his last chance to Exceed to a higher class. At his wit's end, he desperately tries one last time at Exceeding, putting all his chips on the table...except something was different this time. Time freezing, a mysterious voice, and a new Exceed Mark? Had lady luck finally given him a boon? Had he received a class the world had never seen before? One thing is for sure, he's changed. And now he has something called...the Gambler's System.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017.

Owen Deathstalker sacrificed everything to topple a corrupt empire and usher humanity into an age of peace and prosperity. Now, Lewis Deathstalker, Owen's descendant, carries on the family name and honor as a Paragon, warriors famed for their skill and heroism who dispense the king's justice throughout the galaxy. However, 200 years have passed since Owen and his gang of heroes disappeared into legend, and the peace that the Deathstalker bought with his life is quickly coming to an end.

Steve is back and ready for more adventures! But this time the excitement lands closer to home. While walking home from the village, Steve is surprised to hear a loud BOOM! When he returns home, he finds his wheat farm destroyed and a huge crater where the wheat once grew. And his diamond sword is missing! Steve believes it's the act of a griefer with a lot of TNT. Devastated, Steve wants to rebuild and find his sword, but with his wheat destroyed, he must call on old friends to help him.

From "the master of alternate history" comes a new trilogy that reimagines a mid-20th century in which General MacArthur, without bothering to consult President Truman, detonates nuclear warheads in several Manchurian cities after China enters the Korean War. In his acclaimed novels of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has scrutinized the twisted soul of the 20th century, from the forces that set World War I in motion to the rise of fascism in the decades that followed.

The starship crew was stuck on a planet where the well-meaning schemes of ivory-tower social engineers had created a nightmare of battling gangs. So they pretended to be the "Royal Legions" from a distant star kingdom in hot pursuit of an unspeakably evil and nearly all-powerful villain who was hiding somewhere on the planet. Things went even better than they had hoped, and the planet was rapidly becoming civilized...and then the real Royal Flagship showed up.

The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that prey upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind half-forgotten symbols of power. Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not. Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army.